Oct 22 2017

Formula One 2017: Austin

What a difference 2 races make! Well, if you win and your closest competitor is a DNF.

Hamilton now stands 59 points clear of Vettel and could clinch the Driver’s Title in Austin, a power race that favors Mercedes over Maranello. If he wins or comes in second and Vettel finishes no better than 6th or 9th respectively it’s champagne time. Indeed if Bottas finishes 2nd and Vettel 8th or lower, Bottas will take over 2nd position in the Driver’s Championship.

On offer will be Pirelli’s 3 softest compounds, Soft, Super Soft, and Ultra Soft. The track runs counter clockwise which is unusual and the new wider tires have led to faster lap times across the board. The grid is Hamilton, Vettel, Bottas, Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Ocon, Sainz, Alonso, Perez, and Massa. Verstappen got a 15 place penalty for exceding his engine allowance. Hulkenberg received a 20 place penalty for an engine change, Brendon Hartley a 25 place one and Vandoorne 5 places for the same reason. Stroll and Magnussen each got a 3 place penalty for impeding.

All of which makes no difference really, other than silly season stuff there is little drama left. Barring catastrophic failure or a horrible accident Hamilton is set for his 4th World Championship either here or next race in Mexico City. The question now is about the Scuderia Marlboro implosion and how that will effect the Maranello effort going forward into next season. Fiat has already signaled its unhappiness with the racing program as evidenced by the shakeup that replaced almost all the top team leadership with Fiat executives. This year they seemed close, fielding a car that while distinctly inferior in power seemed to handle much better than the Mercedes. Where do they go from here? Duke it out with Red Bull for also ran?

Bwahhahhahhahhah!

rustymancuso581

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  1. Vent Hole

  2. Recon lap

  3. We race

  4. Vettel gets the lead at the start

  5. Hulkenberg done

  6. Lap 5 of 56

    Vettel
    Hamilton
    Bottas
    Ricciardo
    Raikkonen
    Ocon
    Alonso
    Sainz
    Verstappen
    Massa

  7. Werlein pits

  8. Werlein stops

  9. Hartly pits

  10. Lap 10 of 56

    Hamilton
    Vettel
    Bottas
    Ricciardo
    Raikkonen
    Verstappen
    Ocon
    Alonso
    Sainz
    Massa

  11. Stroll pits

  12. Ricciardo and Perez pit

  13. Ocon and Alonso pit

  14. Lap 15 of 56

    Hamilton
    Vettel
    Bottas
    Raikkonen
    Verstappen
    Sainz
    Massa
    Kvyat
    Grosjean
    Vandoorne

  15. Ricciardo stops. Engine

  16. Vettel pits

  17. Grosjean pits

  18. Kvyat pits

  19. Bottas pits

  20. Hamilton pits

  21. Sainz pits

  22. Raikkonen pits

  23. Lap 20 of 56

    Verstappen
    Hamilton
    Vettel
    Bottas
    Raikkonen
    Massa
    Ocon
    Alonso
    Perez
    Vandoorne

  24. Ericsson pits

  25. Verstappen pits

  26. Alonso pits again

  27. Lap 25 of 56

    Hamilton
    Vettel
    Bottas
    Raikkonen
    Verstappen
    Massa
    Ocon
    Perez
    Sainz
    Kvyat

  28. Vandoorne pits

  29. Alonso done

  30. Massa pits

  31. Lap 30 of 56

    Hamilton
    Vettel
    Bottas
    Raikkonen
    Verstappen
    Ocon
    Perez
    Sainz
    Kvyat
    Grosjean

  32. Lap 35 of 56

    Hamilton
    Vettel
    Bottas
    Raikkonen
    Verstappen
    Ocon
    Sainz
    Perez
    Kvyat
    Grosjean

  33. Hartly pits again

  34. Stroll pits again

  35. Verstappen pits again

  36. Vettel pits again

  37. Lap 40 of 56

    Hamilton
    Bottas
    Raikkonen
    Vettel
    Verstappen
    Ocon
    Sainz
    Perez
    Kvyat
    Massa

  38. Lap 45 of 56

    Hamilton
    Raikkonen
    Bottas
    Vettel
    Verstappen
    Ocon
    Sainz
    Perez
    Kvyat
    Massa

  39. Lap 50 of 56

    Hamilton
    Raikkonen
    Vettel
    Bottas
    Verstappen
    Ocon
    Sainz
    Perez
    Kvyat
    Massa

  40. Bottas pits yet again

  41. Lap 55 of 56

    Hamilton
    Vettel
    Raikkonen
    Verstappen
    Bottas
    Ocon
    Sainz
    Perez
    Massa
    Kvyat

  42. Final

    Hamilton
    Vettel
    Verstappen
    Raikkonen
    Bottas
    Ocon
    Sainz
    Perez
    Massa
    Kvyat

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